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SYED ALI KIRMANI former Indian wicket keeper versus BISHAN SINGH BEDI former Indian cricket captain

"No doubt Sourav Ganguly is going through a lean patch but he should be backed instead of being hounded."

"If Sourav is ready to take the bouquets, he should be prepared for the brickbats as well. His bat should do the talking."

EPILOGUE: The Indian skipper is yet to come up with a performance that can silence critics.

VOICES

"Whatever distance we have to go for betterment of ties, we will go."

Shivraj Patil, Union home minister, on Indo-Pak relations

"The Ram temple would have been built if the NDA had been voted to power."

L.K. Advani, BJP president

"The BJP's image as a cadre-based disciplined party has certainly taken a beating. And why worry only about image, we should introspect about reality also."

Pramod Mahajan, BJP general secretary

"A split in Kerala will make the Congress' position worse than it is in West Bengal. That is why I am trying to forge unity but I have to bear the ill-will of my long-time friends."

A.K. Antony, former Kerala chief minister

"The cardinals would not want to have another funeral soon. I am nearing 78."

Mar Varkey Vithayathil, Indian cardinal, when asked if he had a chance of becoming the next Pope

THE BUZZ OF THE WEEK

The rift between the PMO and the Ministry of External Affairs was obvious during the prime minister's Mauritius visit. MEA officials opted to play golf rather than brief the press as is customary.

PICTURE SPEAK

FOR A STAKE IN THE STATE: Jogi (left) and Vora

DELHI Party elections are on in the Congress. Mandated by the Election Commission, these polls held once in three years are a big affair and curiously presided over by Union minister Oscar Fernandes. Party heavyweights use the polls to tighten their grip on the organisation. In fact Congressmen take it so seriously that they employ every trick in the book-from hoax membership records to coaxing and coercing Pradesh Returning Officers (PROs) to get their men a berth in PCCs and the AICC.

The current ground zero is Chhattisgarh. Here the fight is between two former chief ministers-Ajit Jogi and Motilal Vora, who is also AICC treasurer. Jogi, particularly, has cause for worry: the pro for the state is Kripashankar Singh, a former Maharashtra minister and a known Vora ally. Not one to give up easily, Jogi had a "chat" with him, impressing upon Singh his close links with Sonia Gandhi. Party circles feel Jogi may be trying his luck too hard. For, not too long ago Sonia had refused to meet Jogi, when he, angling for a Union cabinet berth, flew in 12 MLAs to Delhi to build pressure for his induction.

-By Lakshmi Iyer

BHOPAL All the speculation about his impending ouster must have made Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur cagey about his own post-retirement days. So in a decision of far-reaching impact, the state Cabinet has decided to make cabinet ministers out of all former chief ministers. Long forgotten ones like Gobind Narayan Singh now have cabinet status, official bungalow, car, telephone and staff. For life.

This comes as a bonus for people like S.C. Shukla and Motilal Vora who now belong to Chhattisgarh. The move by Gaur raises serious questions about expenditure on non-essential things and burgeoning list of ministers despite his Government's intention to the contrary. If there are going to be more cabinet ministers outside the cabinet then it defeats the purpose.

-By Neeraj Mishra

CONFERRED: The 2005 Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology, on Sugata Mitra, the scientist who pioneered the use of it to educate slum children.

SET: A world record in the women's 70m event (compound bow) logging 352 points, by archer Jhanu Hansda of Jharkhand.

RE-ELECTED: A.B. Bardhan, general secretary of the CPI, for the third consecutive term, for a three-year period.

APPOINTED: Kumar Mangalam Birla, AV Birla Group chief, chairman of the recast Board of Trade which facilitates dialogue between government and industry.

WON: The Railways, their second Ranji Trophy title, by beating Punjab, at Mohali.

APPOINTED: Tata Consultancy Services chief S. Ramadorai, chairman of the country's it body nasscom.

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